The manufacture of gel splints, flourine splints, bleaching splints, soft occlusal splints, temporary crowns and bridges, snoring guards, sport mouth guards, fixing splints for orthodontics, bruxism or the like, is generally achieved by vacuum forming of a substrate. This is often performed in dental laboratories using complicated equipment, especially as the use of this kind of devices for security reasons are not allowed in the dental surgery room next to the patient. The heating of the substrate is often performed with electricity and generates heat, which may ignite volatile substances and gases present in the dental surgery room and even cause explosions. Additionally, harmful agents may be released from the polymer used to form the dental aids. The equipments from the prior art often generate noise and odours.
Since it is awkward and time consuming to achieve the dental aids using this kind of equipment, it will lead to a decreased possibility for the dental clinics to be able to produce these dental aids.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,386, for example, discloses such a device using vacuum from an internally arranged vacuum pump and electrical heating coils for heating the substrate for the production of a dental aid. The document describes a method for the posttreatment of a moulded substrate obtained by a device described above. The substrate which will be formed after the teeth model is preheated using electrical heating coils before it is being applied over the model. The final shape of the cast is obtained by means of a membrane arranged on a holder-on. The use of electrical heating coils to heat the substrate before the forming, does not make the thickness of the final product equal, since a temperature gradient arises in the substrate, using this kind of heating. This kind of device and the method of posttreating a substrate involves a complicated equipment and many process steps. There is also a risk that volatile components are released from the polymer at the heating stage. The maintenance of the instrument is also difficult, due to all its parts. In addition, residual pieces of plastics are liable to get stuck into the instrument.
Since this instrument for security reasons are not allowed to be used in the dental surgery room, there exists a need for a simple and cheap device which may be used directly next to the patient. This device should comprise few parts, being easy to handle and not be powered electrically and have an internally arranged vacuum pump. It must be allowed to be used in the dental surgery room and at the same time provide a product having the desired properties such as an even thickness.